Maintaining proper dental hygiene is an important part of maintaining overall health. For people with permanent or temporary disabilities the task of brushing teeth can be between challenging or impossible without assistance. There have been many proposals for dealing with this problem, most with various drawbacks or difficulties either in production or use.
One prior art proposal by Galel et al, the subject of a U.S. provisional patent application filed Feb. 11, 2011 and an article published by Rensselaer Polytechnic Instituted in 2011 entitled “Oral Hygiene for Disabled Users,” utilizes a U-shaped base with a raised track and with raised bristle elements movable on the track. The bristle elements are arcuately reciprocated on the track with a battery powered rotating shaft connected by an output gear to a slotted projection on the bristle elements. While the Galel et al device has a number of desirable features, the manner of use requires the user to bite down on the base and the profile of the entire device is high, both undesirable features. Also the output gear adds undesirable complexity.
Another device, disclosed in the Dugan U.S. Published Patent Application 2009/0276972, has a lower profile than the Galel et al device. Dugan utilizes a U-shaped insert with three sets of bristles in a U-shaped base and effects cleaning by vibrating the insert using a specially designed vibrator. Vibration within a user's mouth may provide an uncomfortable feeling to some individuals, and the vibratory action may not provide an optimum cleaning action.
A number of other proposals dealing with the same problem as the invention, namely facilitating teeth cleaning for a disabled person or baby, such as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,223,376 and 6,152,733, and U.S. Published Patent Applications 2011/0072605, 2011/0154595, 2011/0247159, and 2011/0289709, have been provided. Each has one or more drawbacks that are believed to be overcome by the present invention.
The invention provides a device with a low profile and optimum teeth cleaning action. The device of the invention eliminates the need for the user to rotate her or his wrist while brushing teeth thereby facilitating use by disabled people, and provides substantially the same profile as a standard manual toothbrush. The device is capable of effectively brushing all three sides of each tooth (the front, back, and top or bottom) simultaneously. The novel components of the invention are relatively easy to manufacture and the invention preferably utilizes a conventional, readily commercially available, battery powered toothbrush power source to provide the power necessary for the teeth cleaning action.
According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a tooth cleaning assembly comprising: A substantially open top substantially U-shaped track dimensioned to fit within a human being's mouth containing teeth. [The term “top” is used just to provide a basis for description of the track and does not imply that the open portion of the track is always vertically above the rest of the track. In fact, when the device is used to clean bottom teeth, the open part of the track will be the bottom.] At least one, and preferably a plurality, of distinct brush bristle mounting heads, mounted to be reciprocal within the track, retained within the track, and operatively connected together. A plurality of tooth-engagable bristles (that is bristles generally like those on a conventional toothbrush) operatively connected to each of the heads and extending therefrom to engage a human being's teeth when positioned within a human being's mouth. And, a device facilitating back and forth reciprocal movement of the heads within the track to provide tooth cleaning by the bristles.
The bristles may include first and second distinct rows of bristles extending past the track away therefrom. In one embodiment, such as provided per se in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,382,309 and 4,493,125 (the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein), the bristles of the first and second rows are curved inwardly, toward each other, at portions thereof past the track. There also may be provided a third row of bristles, shorter than the bristles of the first and second rows, extending substantially straight away from the heads and between the first and second rows of bristles.
The heads are operatively connected together by connections that allow some relative pivotal movement of the heads with respect to each other in order to accommodate arcuate reciprocating action. For example the connections may comprise tongue and groove connectors which allow the relative pivotal movement of the heads with respect to each other. The plurality of heads may include a central head, and the central head preferably includes a manifestation, preferably either in the form of an opening or a projection, most desirably an opening, which comprises the device for facilitating back and forth reciprocal movement of the heads.
In addition to providing a manifestation on or in one of the heads, the device which facilitates back and forth arcuate reciprocal movement of the heads within the track may further comprise a linkage which can operatively connect a powered shaft oscillating in a dimension parallel to the dimension of reciprocation of the heads to the manifestation to effect reciprocating movement of the heads. The assembly according to the invention is also preferably provided in combination with a conventional battery powered toothbrush power source having a powered shaft oscillating in a dimension parallel to the dimension of reciprocation of the heads, the powered shaft connected to the linkage; and preferably the manifestation comprises an opening in one of the heads, the opening receiving a portion of the linkage therein.
According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a tooth cleaning assembly comprising: A substantially U-shaped track having an open top (again the use of the word “top” being for descriptive purposes and not implying that the open portion is always the vertically highest portion of the track). A plurality of distinct brush bristle mounting heads reciprocal within the track, retained substantially completely within the track, and operatively connected together. And, a plurality of tooth-engagable bristles operatively connected to each of the heads and extending upwardly from the open top of the track and the heads to engage a human being's teeth when positioned within a human being's mouth to effect cleaning of the front, back, and top or bottom of the human's teeth by reciprocally moving within the track with the heads.
The bristles may include first and second distinct rows of bristles extending upwardly from the track that are curved inwardly, toward each other, (as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,382,309 and 4,493,125) at portions thereof past the track to engage the fronts and backs of teeth that they come into contact with. A third row of bristles, shorter than the bristles of the first and second rows, may be provided extending substantially straight away from the heads and between the first and second rows of bristles to engage the tops or bottoms of teeth that they come into contact with.
As according to the previous aspect of the invention, the heads are preferably operatively connected together by connectors which allow relative pivotal movement of the heads with respect to each other as they arcuately reciprocate within the track. Desirably, the heads are retained within the track by an inward taper of the open top of the track and a cooperating shape of the heads. The track may be made of relatively flexible material, such as nylon, so that the heads may be snap fit into the track through the open top thereof, or the heads and track may be designed so that the heads may be slid into the track at open ends of the top of the “U.”
According to yet another aspect of the invention a tooth cleaning assembly is provided comprising: A substantially U-shaped track having an open top and a central open area at the bottom curve of the “U.” A plurality of distinct brush bristle mounting heads reciprocal within the track, and operatively connected together, and one of the heads having a manifestation therein or thereon aligned with the central open area of the track for cooperation with a shaft which can oscillate in a plane parallel to the dimension of reciprocation of the heads. A plurality of tooth-engagable bristles operatively connected to each of the heads and extending upwardly from the open top of the track. And a guide channel extending outwardly from the track and operatively connected thereto for supporting and guiding an oscillating shaft.
The assembly is preferably provided in combination with a linkage extending through the guide channel and engaging the manifestation; and also in combination with a hand-held powered device having an oscillating shaft extending outwardly therefrom and engaging the linkage to effect powered reciprocation of the heads. The hand-held powered device preferably comprises a conventional battery powered toothbrush power source, such as the commercially available Braun ORAL-B® toothbrush power source, or the power sources as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,536,066 or 6,892,413 (the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein, including the prior art in the '413 patent).
The track and guide channel preferably comprise a unitary piece of biocompatible plastic (e.g. injection molded of nylon, polypropylene, or another readily available plastic). Also, a permanently affixed, or removable, cover (also of plastic) may be provided for covering the guide channel.
It is the primary object of the present invention to provide an assembly that may readily be used by permanently or temporarily disabled or injured people to effectively clean their teeth without assistance from others. This and other objects of the invention will become from the detailed description of the drawings, and from the appended claims.